Winterreise

The Department of Music presents tenor Andrew Sauvageau and pianist Hui-Chuan Chen, who will perform Franz Schubert’s Der Winterreise (D. 911), the darkest of the composers three seminal art song cycles. Setting 24 poems of Wilhelm Müller to music, Schubert transports listeners on a moving, but mournful “winter journey” — that of a lonely traveller wishing to rid himself of the despair of lost love — composed almost entirely using minor keys.

Praised for the shining color in his voice, the spark and nuance of his acting, and for his contained ferocity in concert, Andrew Sauvageau brings his energy to the stage, both in operatic and in concert settings. His solo engagements include performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the UK premiere of Louis Andriessen’s La Commedia, Oliver Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are with New York City Opera, Schönberg’s Serenade with the Birmingham New Music Group at the Library of Congress under Oliver Knussen, Berio’s Coro with the Lucerne Festival under Simon Rattle, Henry Partch’s Barstow with Peabody Camerata, H.K. Gruber’s Frankenstein!!, Armando Bayolo’s Sacred Cows, and Michael Gordon’s Van Gogh with Great Noise Ensemble. Sauvageau has also participated in various premieres by Michael Oberhauser with Silver Finch Arts Collective in Washington, D.C., as well as premieres by Ruby Fulton and Nicholas Vines at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and the American premiere of Joanna Lee’s Lear TV with hexaCollective at the Baltimore ArtScape Festival.

Award-winning pianist Hui-Chuan Chen leads a diverse career as a chamber musician and educator. She has performed widely throughout the United States, Europe and Asia in major performance venues, including Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) and the Kennedy Center, and been featured in festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Barge Music Festival (New York), Chigiana International Festival, Summer Academy, Siena, Italy and the Heifetz International Music Festival. Honors include winning the Wonderlic piano competition in Baltimore, the International Music Festival in Siena, Italy, and the Kaohsiung City Competition and the National Taiwan Normal University Kawai Piano Competitions, both in Taiwan.

This season’s engagement includes Florida Flute Convention, Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Florida State University, UMBC, University of South Florida, University of Baltimore, Community College of Baltimore County, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland, College Park. Chen holds a Doctoral of Musical Arts from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she began her teaching career. She is currently faculty at UMBC and the Washington Conservatory of Music and serves as a board member for JoyStar, a Baltimore-based education center.

Tickets: $15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 students, free for UMBC Music majors, available online or at the box office one hour before the performance.